


Friends with Benefits

by JasnNCarly



Category: True Blood (TV)
Genre: F/M, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-09-25
Updated: 2009-09-25
Packaged: 2019-06-12 05:00:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15332337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasnNCarly/pseuds/JasnNCarly
Summary: Tara is devastated with the loss of Eggs, and Jason may be the only one who understands.





	1. Chapter 1

**Friends with Benefits**

His heart was traveling slowly to the pit of his stomach as he watched her from the distance. Safe from sight, hidden beside the tree, he could read the pain in her chocolate expression.   
  
Her wounded eyes, willingly allowing tears to fall, as she stared at the casket in the dying sunlight.  
  
The image of Amy’s smile had flashed in his memory like a sudden shock to the system, reminding him that he lost a real love as well. No matter how brief it seemed to the outside world, loves like that felt as though they had existed a lifetime.   
  
_Tara felt that way about Eggs._  
  
The sound of approaching footsteps caused him to release a breath he was unaware he was holding in. Knowing who it was, feeling her presence, he admitted softly, “Sook, I feel like I should do something.”  
  
She placed her hand on his shoulder, now within his peripheral vision, and followed his stare towards their mutual friend, “What can we do, Jason? We both know that pain doesn’t just go away.”  
  
“But I—“ Struggling with words the way he often did, he held a hand to his heart, “I know what it’s like to be alone in a time like this.” Jason met his sister’s eyes, confessing while choking back tears, “It’s lonelier than you can imagine.”  
  
Sookie nodded slowly, taking his hand and beginning to lead the way.  
  
Quickly stopping her, Jason took another glance at Tara before suggesting, “I think I oughtta go by myself.”  
  
Though surprised, she gave another small nod and stepped aside.  
  
Still somewhat uncertain and nervous about his approach, Jason drew in a deep breath and followed his boots towards Tara.  
  
_{Sweet like a kiss sharp like a razor blade_  
I find you when I' m close to the bottom  
You can’t appreciate the time it takes  
To kick a love I always knew was kind of wrong  
And as I'm putting out the flame  
Somebody brings up you name  
  
Oh…  
Baby, baby, baby bring me down  
I want to be right where you are  
Baby, baby, baby bring me down  
You can look me in the eye and break my heart  
Break my heart}  
  
Pausing at the chair nearest to her, he waited for her to acknowledge him. Once her brown eyes had looked through tears up at him, Jason offered an awkward smile.  
  
“Jason,” She brushed her tears away, despite their continuous flow, “I thought everybody had left.”  
  
“Ah, nah,” He threw his suit jacket to the back of the chair and knelt in front of her, “I was just sorta waiting for all the people to go home and stop saying they’re sorry to you.”  
  
Her eyes immediately met his, somewhat disgusted, but her mouth remained shut, probably because of her shaken state.  
  
“Not because I’m not sorry.” Jason quickly found his footing and sat down in the chair beside her, cupping one of his hands with the other, “Because I am…sorry that is.”  
  
“I get it, Jason.” She snapped, wiping her fingertips along the bottom of her chin, and returned her eyes to the casket, releasing a long breath, “Thanks for sticking around, but…I’d like to be alone.”  
  
“I figured as much.”   
  
She waited patiently for a moment, yet Jason didn’t budge. Her patience was wearing thin, “Then why the fuck are you here?”  
  
Jason ignored her familiar attitude, rubbing his sweaty palms along his thighs, “I know what it’s like to be alone when you don’t need to be.” A slow blink of tearful eyes was her only response as he continued, forcing himself to speak, “I wanted to be alone after everything that happened. Then, I ended up with that damn devil cult. Come back and Bon Temps is shot to hell.”  
  
She let out a heavy sigh, trying her best to hold back anything but the numb stature she was sure she had to give everyone, “Is there a point to this, Jason?”  
  
“Yeah, there is.” Jason was hoping to have her eyes award him with understanding, the way they often did, but she stared away. Despite this, he went on, “The point is all the running didn’t help me forget what happened to those women. Not to Sookie. Not to Gran. And not to Amy. What I did made things worse, made me do things real dumb and bad.”  
  
Finally, Tara’s eyes were back on him with a hint of what he was looking for.  
  
“Now, you can cuss me out and yell all you want to. But I ain’t never turned my back on you, and I don’t plan to start now.” Assured he was doing the right thing, he crossed his arms and continued, ”You won’t get in the same trouble I did as long as I’m here.”  
  
She smiled at him through thick tears, letting out a soft laugh, and he was unsure of what to make of it. Knowing this, Tara swallowed every bit of her pride, “Thank you, Jason.”  
  
_{Six a.m. unruffled pillow_  
Laughs out loud at my trusting heart  
It's like I didn't see the penny  
I missed the fountain by a couple yards  
If you would only stay gone  
Maybe I could move on  
  
Oh…  
Baby, baby, baby bring me down  
I want to be right where you are  
Baby, baby, baby bring me down  
You can look me in the eye and break my heart  
Break my heart}  
  
After a few minutes of silence, Tara returned her eyes to the cold casket.  
  
Jason observed her closely as she did this, catching the mixture of love and frustration.  
  
She answered his silent question, tears softening her speech, “Nobody should’ve come today. They all hated him you know. Thought he was this evil bastard set to destroy me, when he was just as lost as I was.”  
  
Caught off guard, he had to lean back a little when her ebony eyes caught his once more.  
  
“He wanted to save me, Jason. He loved me. Probably the first man who ever lived a day to make me happy. All that other shit? The evil? That was MaryAnn, and she did her bullshit voodoo just as heavy on me. But Eggs, he didn’t have my mama or Lafayette or Sookie to steal him away from her…to get him out of how deep he was in. He only had me.”  
  
Jason found the courage to lean forward, closer to her gaze, “I get that. Everyone thought Amy was evil, but I know different.” Hanging his head for a moment, he thought of her once more, “But it wasn’t my job to save her, Tara, just like it ain't yours. You couldn’t save Eggs.”  
  
“I wanted to, though.”  
  
Nodding with a sad smile, he allowed his rough hand to find the softness of her palm. Jason locked their fingers, using his free hand to caress her teardrops into her the skin of her cheek, “I know.”  
  
Tara forgot her sadness for a moment, comforted by his strength and brief wisdom. Sniffling quietly, she allowed herself to fall into him and closed her eyes once she was secure against his chest.  
  
Thankful he could make the pain fade for a moment, Jason held her for as long as she would allow him.  
  
__**Song Credit: “Bring Me Down” – Miranda Lambert**


	2. Friend Zone

**Friend Zone**  
  
Jason knew he should say something as she continued to put things up, moving about his Gram’s kitchen as though nothing had happened.  
  
He couldn’t imagine it was easy for her, living alone as Sookie searched for Bill and dealing with Eggs death, and their time together must’ve been making things happier.  
  
But time with Tara had grounded him, reminded him that life could be easy in simplicity.  
  
The kiss might of ruined things, and it was enough to stall him as he headed back into the house.  
  
When she failed to acknowledge him, he nervously cleared his throat, “Trash is out.”  
  
Tara nodded, continuing to scrub the last frying pan left.  
  
 _I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. It was stupid._  Rather than say any of this, he allowed his boots to lead him through the kitchen, “Well, I guess I’ll be gone. You have a good night and all.”  
  
“You know what, Jason Stackhouse, you are nothing more than a thorn in my side, a sharp pain in my ass, and no doubt my biggest test from the Lord above.”  
  
He stopped, turning back to face her as she slumped over the sink, “…all right.”  
  
“How is it that whenever my life is an absolute fuckin’ mess, you show up? How are you always there? Do you get some kind of sick pleasure out of this that I simply don’t understand?”  
  
Sliding his hands slowly into his pockets, he zeroed his dark ovals in on hers once she had finally looked up from her work, “I don’t think so.”  
  
“Well, I hope you know you ain’t no hero. Especially for me, so just lose the cape.” Tara noted his confused frown, grabbing a dish towel to dry her hands, “I’m done with men who want to save me.”  
  
“I ain’t trying to save you, Tara.”  
  
“Then what are you doing, huh? What do you want from me?”  
  
“Nothing, shit!” His frustration was beginning to outweigh his frustration as he took a few steps towards her, “I thought we were friends. That I could be around someone who didn’t expect me to say or do the right thing or judge me for somethin’.”  
  
“You have not been around me like this since we were kids.”  
  
“I’d imagine we haven’t had this much to hide from since we were kids.”  
  
Tara clearly hated to agree with him as she hung her head and her body relaxed, a sigh quietly leaving her lips.  
  
Licking his suddenly incredibly dry lips, he tried to ignore what her presence was now responsible for when it came to his body. The last time he had even entertained ideas about her he was so far gone on ‘V’ that he had forgot to enjoy the sensation.   
  
The anticipation of feeling her lips again, wanting to be responsible for any smile she let escape, and to feel free to explore her skin, memorizing every detail before they left each other’s sight. Processing all of this and applying it to a woman, a friend for so long, was an entirely new experience for him – especially since the past year had been a supernatural rollercoaster ride.  
  
By the time he had gotten out of his own head, there was no distance between them. His hands were on her hips, she was staring up to his eyes, and their lips were drifting towards each other with a magnetic smooth force.  
  
This time had been different than the last; they remained rather than running in opposite directions and forced themselves to stay in the moment, ignoring all reserve.  
  
They had lost themselves so successfully that they missed the blue eyes placed upon them, staring in mild discomfort and complete disbelief.  
  
If they had seen him, maybe they would have rethought their actions. Maybe they would have seen his resolve and realized he would be problem for them in the very near future.


End file.
